Match thread: Swans v North.

[dejavoodoo44]

Going by the angry pills he was on last night, also potentially suspension-prone.

I suspect that Wicks may have said a few unkind words?

And I am enjoying Wicks as a defender. He seems to drive small forwards a little bit crazy and the job that he did on Watson was probably the highlight of the Hawthorn game.

[Mountain Man]

Percentage now 114.9 which is 8th on ladder

Early days, but....

[stevoswan]

What a great win last night. The team clicked and I am much more confident now about Cox's game plan and his willingness to change it during the game.....and the players embracing his instructions.

Parker certainly does look weird in a North jumper and frankly, while I'll always look upon him as a Bloods legend, I reckon he's tainted that legacy a bit by basically sulking off to Norf after a bit of a tanty because last season didn't go the way he would have liked it to go. Very disappointed....and I suspect that deep down, he will eventually regret his decision.

However, his trade was good because of two things: we got rid of a liability in that angry ant Kostanty (funny that 'tanty' is part of his name) and it enabled us to pick up surprise packet Riley Bice, who is looking fantastic and like a real asset to the team so far.

Impressive win that will give the lads a lot of confidence moving forward....and with so many good players to return, I am also moving forward into the season with increased confidence.

Now for Collingwood! See ya's next week.

[KSAS]

Yes, it was weird and sad seeing Parker playing in opposition colours against us. He certainly would've still been getting games with our injury list had he stayed, but can understand from his pov choosing security of 3 year contract v our 1 year with younger mids pressing.

Iinteresting if we would have still drafted Riley if Parker decided to remain.

I chuckled when Chad cheekily offered Parker a high 10 after kicking a goal in the 3rd. Parker also saw the funny side, walking away with a sheepish grin. Would've been hilarious had he partaken out of habit!!!!

[Nico]

I would say that is Will Hayward's best game of his career. Finally he chased and harassed and at one point on TV a close up showed him sweating. Let's hope he continues that form next week, but it will be a far better opponent.

[imuninformedtwo]

Coaches votes

Hayward 9
Bice 7
Grundy 6
Amartey 3
McCartin 2
Rowie 2
Sheezel 1

So good to see Bice rewarded like that.

https://www.afl.com.au/news/1295646/coaches-votes-r4-saint-jack-sinclair-surges-ahead-six-perfect-10s-in-round-four

[dejavoodoo44]

Coaches votes

Hayward 9
Bice 7
Grundy 6
Amartey 3
McCartin 2
Rowie 2
Sheezel 1

So good to see Bice rewarded like that.

https://www.afl.com.au/news/1295646/coaches-votes-r4-saint-jack-sinclair-surges-ahead-six-perfect-10s-in-round-four

My maths has Grundy getting five votes from one coach and one vote from the other. I wonder which way the former ruckman went? Did he think that the ruck work was integral to the win? Or did he think that Grundy rucked well, but not exceptionally well?

[rojo]

I would say that is Will Hayward's best game of his career. Finally he chased and harassed and at one point on TV a close up showed him sweating. Let's hope he continues that form next week, but it will be a far better opponent.

I too thought that that was the best game I have seen Hayward play!

In the past it often seemed to me that he saw himself as a role player, happy to do spectacular things now and again in a game but if he ran over a ball, missed a tackle or shot on goal, well there was always Errol, Chad or Isaac etc there to carry the team through. On Saturday however he seemed to do as we have hoped some of the second tier players would do, step up and take more responsibility for the outcome of the game. Hopefully with Gulden and Paps out and Isaac and Chad getting closer attention Will will show us that he too has what it takes to become a key player for our team. Tom McCartin had a great game too.

[Dow]

I would say that is Will Hayward's best game of his career. Finally he chased and harassed and at one point on TV a close up showed him sweating. Let's hope he continues that form next week, but it will be a far better opponent.

Totally agree with you, I wonder why as the difference to his normal game was all effort based so why can’t he do it more often ?

[imuninformedtwo]

I too thought that that was the best game I have seen Hayward play!

In the past it often seemed to me that he saw himself as a role player, happy to do spectacular things now and again in a game but if he ran over a ball, missed a tackle or shot on goal, well there was always Errol, Chad or Isaac etc there to carry the team through. On Saturday however he seemed to do as we have hoped some of the second tier players would do, step up and take more responsibility for the outcome of the game. Hopefully with Gulden and Paps out and Isaac and Chad getting closer attention Will will show us that he too has what it takes to become a key player for our team. Tom McCartin had a great game too.

Slightly disagree. I reckon Wilbur often does a bucket of running to create space, shut down an opponent, and do the defensive stuff to the detriment of his offensive games - particularly before last year. I think his first few games this year were ok on the defensive side - no more - but he went to another level both sides of the equation last weekend.

As for Grundy and the coaches votes, good on him. He’d been poor the first few weeks, even allowing for injury, so kudos to him to bounce back. It was far better than I expected against a quality opponent and happy to be wrong.

[MattW]

My maths has Grundy getting five votes from one coach and one vote from the other. I wonder which way the former ruckman went? Did he think that the ruck work was integral to the win? Or did he think that Grundy rucked well, but not exceptionally well?

Yes, i think it's:

Coach 1:
5 Hayward
4 Bice
3 Amartey
2 McCartin or Rowbottom
1 Grundy

Coach 2
5 Grundy
4 Hayward
3 Bice
2 McCartin or Rowbottom
1 Sheezel

i can't see Dean giving Sheezel a vote, so strongly suspect he's Coach 1. Also he very strongly praised Hayward in the presser, and I noticed Clarkson credit Grundy's dominance in the ruck.

[dejavoodoo44]

Yes, i think it's:

Coach 1:
5 Hayward
4 Bice
3 Amartey
2 McCartin or Rowbottom
1 Grundy

Coach 2
5 Grundy
4 Hayward
3 Bice
2 McCartin or Rowbottom
1 Sheezel

i can't see Dean giving Sheezel a vote, so strongly suspect he's Coach 1. Also he very strongly praised Hayward in the presser, and I noticed Clarkson credit Grundy's dominance in the ruck.

Yes, makes sense.

And it's sort of nice, that we convincingly won a game without Heeney or Warner getting the major votes.

[crackedactor 01]

Yes, makes sense.

And it's sort of nice, that we convincingly won a game without Heeney or Warner getting the major votes.

Agree !! Heeney played a good game but was not outstanding and Warner was ill and only played for 2 1/2 quarters.

[Roadrunner]

Agree !! Heeney played a good game but was not outstanding and Warner was ill and only played for 2 1/2 quarters.

Yes, it was a real team effort without any passengers. I thought we applied the pressure we’ve been used to and not relly on our usual suspects to inspire. We will need to kick on from here against the Pies who are in very good form.